NEED TO KNOW
\nAshley Tisdale has announced that 11 years after tying the knot with husband, Christopher French, she is professionally changing her nameThe 40-year-old actress revealed her decision in a TikTok video on Monday, Nov. 17 ‘I just felt like it was time for people to know me for me,” she explained in the social media clip<\/p>\n
Ashley Tisdale French<\/a> is entering a new era!\n<\/p>\n The High School Musical alum, 40, announced in a TikTok video<\/a> posted on Monday, Nov. 17, that she will be using her marital surname professionally from now on as she changed her social media handles to Ashley Tisdale French.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI’ve been Ashley French for so long at home, but I really never changed [it] publicly because everyone knows me as Ashley Tisdale,\u201d said Ashley, who tied the knot with husband Christopher French<\/a> in 2014.\n<\/p>\n \u201cBut I just felt like it was time for people to know me for me and not just a character, or like a celebrity,\u201d she explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFor so long, I have shared so much of my life on social media,\u201d continued Ashley. \u201c\u2026 At this point, you don’t know what’s real, what’s a bot. And everyone has something to say, and it might not be positive \u2026 I felt like, in order to protect my peace, I didn’t want to keep sharing in that way.”\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n As well as her name change, Ashley shared an update on her beauty company, Being Frenshe, inspired by her marital name, in the video.\n<\/p>\n Ashley Tisdale French with her husband Christopher and their two daughters Jupiter and Emerson.<\/p>\n Christian Thompson\/Disneyland Resort via Getty<\/p>\n Back in 2022, the actress told PEOPLE<\/a> about the origin of the name. “When I was creating a blog and I knew it was going to be a very personal platform of mine, where I talked very openly and authentically about everything that I’d gone through. I was trying to think of the time in my life when I started this journey of learning about myself. And I really was inspired by my husband when we got married and him being sober<\/a>,” she recalled.\n<\/p>\n \u201cAnd, my married name is French. I always like to say, ‘I’m Ashley Tisdale in the business, but at home I’m Ashley French.’ And so I think for me, it was the first time I was really letting everybody in to see who I am as a person,\u201d Ashley said.\n<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for\u00a0PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.\n<\/p>\n In September, the star posted a tribute to her husband, with whom she shares daughters Jupiter<\/a>, 4, and 14-month-old Emerson<\/a>, on Instagram to mark their 11th wedding anniversary<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n “How was this 11 years ago?! \ud83d\ude2d\ud83e\udd70\u2764\ufe0f Happy Anniversary my love @cmfrench,” she wrote at the time. “Best decision I have ever made, love of my freaking life!”\n<\/p>\n